DAYTON, OH—One of the largest industrial real estate deals in the metro area's recent history pushed positive absorption up to 1.37-million-square-feet in the second quarter, up from just 75,000-square feet in the first quarter, according to new research by Cassidy Turley. The solid quarter has raised hopes that the industrial economy here has finally turned a corner after a long, relatively slow recovery.
Fuyao North America recently plunked down $15 million for a 1.2-million-square-foot portion of the 4.2-million-square-foot former GM Moraine Assembly Plant. The 2008-9 crash of the auto industry left it largely vacant, but the Chinese auto glass manufacturer has already begun refurbishing the property and hopes to start production by 2015, according to Jarrett Hicks, senior research analyst in Cassidy Turley's Cincinnati and Dayton offices.
“This will probably be the biggest thing that has happened in the Dayton area since the GM closure,” he told GlobeSt.com. “If commercial real estate activity is any indication, the Greater Dayton economy is in recovery mode.”
Currently, developers have about 2.6-million-square-feet of industrial projects under construction, and they should deliver the majority of it by the end of 2014. If completed, these projects should push 2014 positive absorption well past the 2.6-million-square-feet absorbed in 2013.
The South and Upper North submarkets led the way in the second quarter, with, respectively, 1,092,469-square-feet and 402,719-square-feet of positive net absorption. And the overall vacancy rate for the metro area now stands at 13.15%, a 1.2% drop from the first quarter.
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
